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CCE in brief

Recovering backpacker, Cornwallite at heart, political enthusiast, catalyst, writer, husband, father, community volunteer, unabashedly proud Canadian.
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Do I fully believe that Marvel has a mapped-out plan for movie into 2028? Absolutely. Do I think it's fully populated with detailed content down to the characters to be highlighted and Easter Eggs to be embedded? Not in the slightest.

But that isn't the point - that's no the genius of this announcement. By creating even a framework that lets them credibly encourage fans to imagine a temporal journey into an expanding universe with them, Marvel has given them cause to voice their thoughts on who and what they'd like to see on the big screen.

This, folks, is what's known as co-designing. It's a bit like parenting - do parents ever get bored of watching their kids grow up? Nope. When you invest so much of your time and energy into a product, a brand or an individual, it becomes an extension of you - literally, you live through it.

I've been watching Disney with a suspicious eye ever since they cancelled The Clone Wars, but as it is emerging that they've thought their actions through, taken into account various fan bases and are really interested in sustained profit through an ongoing relationship instead of a series of bombastic one-offs, they're starting to win my trust.

Bob Iger was wise to reference Pixar, because that's a firm audiences have come to trust, too. We know the folk at Pixar are as invested in their creations as we are, meaning they will always, always focus on the little value-added pieces that turn products into experiences.

Disney has Star Wars, too - and is bringing it back to life in a massive, carefully-orchestrated way.

Re-read that last one. Disney, along with firms like Microsoft, is a world-leader in social support and sustainability.

Disney is providing massive amounts of content through various platforms, each honest to their own unique brand and loyal to their own customer bases, yet integrated into one seamless, efficient, powerful whole. It's like a random bunch of blocks put together through collaboration to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Their partners trust them. Partners who produce content that countless fans around the world love and believe in. By empowering their team members, Disney is giving their new end-users cause to trust them, too. It's funny how that happens.